JHELUM (MNN); Police on Sunday arrested a man accused of attacking prominent cleric Engineer Muhammad Ali Mirza at his Qur’an-o-Sunnat Research Academy in Jhelum.
According to the first information report (FIR), the incident occurred at the conclusion of a lecture at the academy. The complainant, Muhammad Kashif Qureshi — a core member of the institution — stated that while most attendees were leaving after the session, some had stayed behind to take selfies with the scholar.
As per the complaint, the suspect suddenly grabbed Mirza by the collar, punched him repeatedly, and removed his turban. He allegedly threw the turban on the ground and attempted to strangle the cleric while chanting slogans. People present at the venue immediately intervened and restrained the attacker before handing him over to the police on duty.
District Police Officer Tariq Aziz Sindhu confirmed that the suspect had been taken into custody and an FIR had been registered under Section 324 (attempted murder) of the Pakistan Penal Code. He added that investigations into the attacker’s background are ongoing.
The DPO stated that a four-layer security arrangement had been deployed at the academy. He also noted that police had repeatedly advised the cleric to avoid taking selfies with unfamiliar individuals attending his sessions.
Officials further revealed that Mirza had faced threats in the past. Last year, he was taken into protective custody under the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO) ordinance after a worker of the banned Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan accused him of blasphemy and filed a case. He was later released on bail.
Section 3 of the MPO empowers authorities to detain individuals to prevent actions deemed harmful to public safety or public order.
A resident of Machine Mohallah in Jhelum, Mirza regularly uploads lectures on social media and has over 3.1 million subscribers on YouTube. In 2024, he was among 17 clerics barred from delivering speeches during Muharram by the local administration to prevent sectarian unrest.
This is not the first such incident. In March 2021, Mirza survived an assassination attempt at a religious academy, after which the suspect was arrested and charged with attempted murder. In May 2020, he was also detained over alleged derogatory remarks about certain religious figures but was subsequently granted bail.
